Ball agitating device for pinball games



B. E. MILLS Nov. 20, 1934.y y V l BALL AGITATING DEVICE FOR PIN-BALLGAMES Filed March 51, 1933 im fLQ`/ .III-

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Patented Nov. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES of Illinois BALL AGITATING DEVICEFOR PINBALL GAMES Bert E. Mills, Oak Park, Ill., assignor 1:0 MillsNovelty Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation Application March 31,1933, Serial No. 663,743

4 Claims.

This invention relates to games of the so-called pin ball type, in whichballs are projected over the surface of a board which is provided with aplurality of pin cages, with openings therein for 5 receiving the balls,each of said openings having a number associated therewith, so that thescore may be computed by totaling the numbers at the various openings inwhich the balls are placed in the playing of the game.

In games of this character, the balls are ordinarily dropped through theplaying board after the game is completed, and returned on a lower levelto a position from which they are successively lifted to the surface ofthe playing board, and projected, by means of a plunger operated by theplayer.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device for liftingthe balls successively from the lower level to the playing board, andfor insuring that the balls will not jam or become clogged in thepassageway through which they pass into position to be lifted to playingposition by said device.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as Iproceed with my specication, which, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig, 1 is a plan and sectional view of an apparatus in which myinvention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a Vertical sectional View taken substantially on the sectionalline 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing the ball lifting and shuilling device inside elevation; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the line 3-3 in Fig.2.

Upon said drawing, I have shown, for purposes of illustration, onecorner of a casing 11 having a front wall 12, upon which there ispositioned a plate 13 having a hub part 14 extending into an aperture 15in said front wall, said plate providing a support in which a plunger 16is slidably mounted, said plunger having a :linger piece 17 on the frontend thereof, and a plunger head 1S on the rear end thereof, said plungerserving to actuate a ball lifting and agitating device which will laterbe described.

The casing 11 has positioned therein a slanting board 19 on which thepin cages (not shown) are positioned, said board being disposed beneatha glass cover 21, shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing. A divider board22 is positioned on edge at one side of the board to provide apassageway or alley 23, through which the balls may be projected by aplunger in a well-known manner, said board 22 extending over only partof the board 19 onto which the balls are projected after passing throughsaid alley 23.

After completion of a game, the balls are allowed to drop through theboard 19 and make their way to the forward part of the machine, wherethey roll laterally through an inclined trough 24, provided in a lowerboard 25. Said balls, which are indicated by the reference numeral 26,are adapted to pass through a relatively small opening 27 provided atthe end of said trough 24, the forward ball resting against an arcuateportion 28 of a substantially L-shaped lever 29 pivoted at 31 to theframe, said lever having an extension 32 provided with a cam part 33adapted to be engaged by the plunger head 18 to lift said lever from thedotted line position, shown in Fig. 2, to the full line position shownin said figure. Said arcuate portion 28 of the lever 29 is provided witha return part 34 at its lower end, which is equipped with a stop member35, and to the upper end of said arcuate member 28 there is attached, bymeans of screws 36, or otherwise, a wedge-shaped member 37 having abeveled lower edge 33 adapted to strike against the forward ball 26 inthe trough 24, on the downward stroke of said lever, to jar the ballsand cause them to back up in said trough. As the balls are released bythe board, they often roll down to the trough 24 in a group, and, sincethey are made of light material, they often stack and clog in thetrough. It has been found inl practice in the use of the device of thepresent invention that, when the lever 29 is released after having beenelevated by the player by pressing in the plunger 17, it drops quickly,and the wedgeshaped member 37 striking the lowermost ball in the troughwill shoot the balls four or ve inches back in the trough. This willseparate the balls long enough so that those which have been stacked ontop of others will drop down and line up in the `trough thereby breakingup any jam or clogging in the passageway 27 or the trough 24, whichmight otherwise prevent the balls from moving through said passageway insuccession so as to always have a free ball resting against the arcuateportion 28 of the lever, and adapted to roll into a vertical passageway39, formed between a frame part 41 and the outer wall of the casing 11,the latter being grooved, as indicated at 42, to direct the ballupwardly after the horizontal end portion 43 of said lever 28, 29 hasbeen moved downwardly beneath the ball to be lifted, and thence upwardlyto a point at which it directs the ball through an inlet opening 44 intothe alley 23.

Said pivoted lever 28, 29 thus serves the combned function of a balllifter and a ball agitating device, thereby overcoming one of theserious difficulties which has heretofore been experienced with games ofthis character, namely, the jamming or sticking of the balls in thelower delivery chute or passageway so that, when the ball lifter isactuated, no ball is present to be raised to the playing board.

The plunger for actuatingV the balls after they are delivered to thepassageway or alley 23 is not shown, but this, as well as the remainingparts of the game apparatus, willbe readilyunderstood by those skilledin the art'. f

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be'apparent that various changes may be made inV the form, constructionand arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scopeofthe invention, or sacricing all of its material advantages, theconstruction hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodimentthereof,

I claim:

l. In a pin ball gamathe combination of a playing board, means forsupporting a supply of balls beneath said board, said means including arestricted passageway, through which the .balls pass, to present themsingly to position for elevation to the playing board, a verticallyoscillating ball lifting device adapted to lift the balls individuallyfrom said support to said playing board, said. ball liftingy devicehaving a cam element thereon for agitating the remainingballs in saidsupply upon the down stroke of said device.

2. In a pin ball game, the combination of a playing. board, means forsupporting a supply of lballs beneath said board, said means including arestricted passageway, through which the balls pass, to present themsingly to position for elevation to the playing board, a verticallyoscillating ball lifting device adapted to lift the `balls individuallyfrom said support to said playing board, said ball lifting devicecomprising a lever having a wedge-shaped plate attached thereto, whichplate is adapted to strike the forward ball resting on said support whensaid device is moved downwardly, to thereby agitate and re-arrange saidballs, thus preventing any jamming thereof, and assuring their orderlypresentation, one by one, to said ball lifting device.

3. In a pin ball game, the combination of a playing board, means forincluding a trough and a restricted passageway at the end thereof,located beneath said playing board, for containing a supply of ballsadapted to pass in single le through said passageway, a verticallyoscillating ball lifting' device mounted adjacent the outlet end of saidrestricted passageway, means for actuating said device to successivelylift the balls individually to the level of the playing board, and meansmovable with said lifting device for striking the forward ball `in saidpassageway on the down stroke of the lifting device to jolt the line ofballs in said passageway, thereby breaking up any jam or cloggingthereof in the passageway, and assuring the presentation of all theballs successively to said lifting device.

4. In a pinball game, the combination of a playing board, means forincluding a trough and a restricted passageway at the end thereof,located beneath said playing board, for containing a supply of ballsadapted to pass in single le through said passageway, a verticallyoscillating ball lifting device mounted adjacent the outlet end of saidrestricted passageway, means for actuating said device to successivelylift the balls individual ly to the level of the playing board, andmeans movable with said liftingdevice for striking the forward ball` insaid passageway on the down stroke of the lifting device to jolt theline of balls in said passageway, thereby breaking up any jam orclogging thereof in the passageway, and assuring the presentation of allthe balls successively to said liftingl device, said last mentionedmeans comprising a wedge-shaped plate attached to said lifting device.

BERT E. MILLS.

